Kitsune in Konoha
by Squislaiden
Summary: Konoha is in trouble. They're on the eve of another shinobi war and everyone knows they won't stand up to Kumo and Iwa with Sound. Can this group of five, Kitsune Legion, sway the upcoming war in favor of Konoha? NaruHina Sasu?
1. Overview

**Story that takes place six years after a modified past. The Kyuubi is Naruto's mother and his father, Yondaime, was sealed inside of him with his mother. These changes from the canon time line changed some in the story. Read Overview for a better description.**

**FemKyuubi FemHaku, AU**

**I don't even know if Haku will come in for a bit. Just putting that warning that if Haku does come it, he's a girl in this.**

**Disclaimer: I only own part of the plot and some OCs.**

"Blah" Dialog

_Blah_ Thinking; Naruto (during mental conversation)

_**Blah**_ Kyuubi

_Blah_ Hinata

**Blah** Minato

_**Blah**_ Sasuke

**-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-**

Chapter 1: Overview

The eight year old later-to-be ninja was running from some men. They caught and beat him in a back end ally. One of them was about to kill the kid because he was hitting him so hard. The Kyuubi decided, then and there, that enough was enough. Red Chakra poured from Naruto's body and formed into a womanly figure. The Kyuubi proceeded to beat the tar out of the men. She was about to kill them with a burning ball of red chakra when Naruto had yelled for her to stop. Those men owed their lives to the boy as Kyuubi stopped and headed back to Naruto. She stopped when the ANBU arrived and questioned her. She said she was protecting the boy and threatened to destroy Konoha if Naruto was harmed once more that night. She quickly merged back with the now unconscious boy. Lucky for Naruto, and Konoha as a whole, the captain of the team of ANBU was none other than Kakashi Hatake, the famed copy-cat ninja. He took the boy and reported the incident to the Hokage. That night, Kakashi retired from the ANBU in order to play the role of Naruto's guardian. Naruto moved in with the white-haired ninja and lived with him until he was twelve.

When Naruto was ten, the Kyuubi decided to interfere and changed the fate of Naruto and a little girl. She messed with Naruto's mind and bit and made him go over to talk with her. Naruto quickly made friends with her and they were both happy.

Two years later, Naruto was tricked by Mizuki into stealing the scroll of forbidden techniques. Mizuki attempted to take the boy's life when Iruka, the only man to ever be friends with the boy, blocked the large shuriken. That night, Naruto learned about the reason that all of the villagers hated him. Naruto defended his teacher, Iruka, and managed to pummel Mizuki with his newly learned, Shadow Clone jutsu. He was crying silently in his room that night. He cried until he cried himself to sleep. He ended up in a sewer tunnel, which turned out was his mindscape. It was then that he met the bane of his existence, or so he thought. He had come to find out, that not only was the Kyuubi sealed inside Naruto, and that she was a girl, but the Yondaime himself had sealed himself inside his _own child_. Naruto learned that his father was Minato Namikaze, the Yondaime of Konoha. What was even more surprising, was that his mother, was the Kyuubi. It was a bit hard for Naruto to take all of this in, but when he did, he did it with open arms and in the fullest. Maybe it was just because he always longed for the love of parents or just because he was oblivious that it could be a trick. Luckily, it turned out that it wasn't a trick. The next day he went to the academy to find out who was on his Genin team. He ended up being stuck with Sasuke, but he was thankfully on the same team as Hinata, so he could bear it. It turned out that their teacher was none-other than Kakashi, who, after a very crafty prank of Yondaime's and Naruto's was angered at them already. Minato and Kyuubi each taught Naruto something, later that day, as a gift for learning the Shadow Clone jutsu and graduating the academy. Kyuubi taught Naruto a genjutsu reversal technique that would allow him to transplant the genjutsu effects back on his opponent or, if it affected the mind in any way, surf through the opponent's memories. It took Naruto about a month to perfect it. Minato taught his son a variation of the Shadow Clone that would give him and the Kyuubi a physical body so they could walk around outside of his body. The next day included the bell test and all of its strife. Naruto had used the variation that Minato taught him and brought them out under a henge to hide their identities. The kids barely managed to pass the test, thought not by getting a bell. After the test, Minato blew their cover by threatening a Rasengan. Naruto proceeded to yell at his father when his mother told him not to talk to his father that way. Having no alternate choice, Naruto led his three teammates to his room and sealed it from sound and view, just in case a Hyuuga was looking with the Byakugan. He told them all about the Yondaime and Kyuubi being sealed inside of him and being his parents. Surprisingly, both Hinata and Sasuke accepted him. They also figured out that Naruto was half-demon and wondered about any fox traits. That was when the Yondaime revealed the seal that he had used after Naruto's birth that allowed them to be hidden, even from the Byakugan. It became painfully obvious, the next day, that Naruto would be advancing much faster than the other two because of his immense chakra storage and his unconscious draw of Kyuubi's chakra. Kyuubi suggested that they forcefully increase the other two's storage by inserting a high amount of chakra to stretch them. It took two goes until they were just under Naruto's level. Then, being the idiotic genius that he is, Minato suggested and created a chakra link between the kids. The link, which was completely impossible to break, short of death, provided the other two the ability to access the Kyuubi's chakra, unless Naruto decided to block them off. Yondaime could see the dark path of Sasuke Uchiha and decided it would have to be remedied. He instructed Naruto, many times, on various ways to calm the Uchiha down with some seals so he'd become more open and, unwillingly, a friend to his two teammates. It was a couple days after they had made the link that the three children, unknowingly to all three adults, made a blood pact. After building up Hinata's confidence and assuring Sasuke that he didn't have AIDS or any other disease, the each cut their hands and shook, mixing their blood.

The Genins did various D-rank missions that they all hated with a passion. All the time, Naruto had been using his father's advice and got the Uchiha to be more friendly and open with them. Minato was proud of his son's work, even though the ideas were his own and not the boy's. Finally, they complained and got a C-rank mission by using the excuse and proof that they were much stronger than the other Genin teams were at the time. The Sandaime relented and gave them an escort mission. They had to escort Katsu and some goods to a city a few days from Konoha. They were attacked by higher level ninja, some Chuunin and a Jonin. Sasuke killed the Chuunin that he went up against, while Hinata couldn't bring herself to kill her enemy and Naruto hesitated. They just tied the two up. Kakashi managed to scare the Jonin into submission to death when he seemed to copy the Jonin's every movement at the same time he did them. Before the death blow was given, two senbon were hurled and struck the man in the neck. Similar senbon struck the two Chuunin. A hunter-nin carried them off. Later, when they were half a day from the village, the ninja came back, the hunter-nin with them. Hinata was stuck with the Chuunin, Naruto was stuck with the Jonin, since Kakashi was out of service due to his overuse of the Sharingan. Sasuke was going to help with the Jonin when the hunter-nin attacked him with a dome of mirrors. Sasuke fought and fought and lost. Before he died, he grew two fox ears, a fox tail, and three whiskers on his face like Naruto had. Hinata was in a pinch when she pushed back. She had grown fox traits just like Sasuke had. Naruto was hurled by the Jonin and landed by the ice dome. He saw Sasuke's limp body and the hunter-nin and put two and two together. His rage built up and, ignoring the shouts from his parents inside his mind, pulled on the Kyuubi's chakra. He attacked the ice mirrors and demolished them. The Jonin was swiftly destroyed while the hunter-nin ran off saying that his fight was over here. Little did they know, they'd be seeing the hunter-nin again. It turned out that one of Sasuke's pressure points had been hit, knocking him out. The group rested and reached the city the next day. They all stayed in the town three days to allow Kakashi to get back to health. During the time there, Hinata managed to pull up her courage and spill her feelings to Naruto. Naruto, shocked by this, thought for a bit, and, after some nonsense, accepted her request for a date. They spent the rest of the time there together. They never did kiss. Though, they did start hugging and getting closer to one another.

After that mission, they rested for a day and received another C-rank mission. This time, they had to escort an old man to the Wave country and guard him while he finished building a bridge. There were attacked one by two Chuunin and the mission became a B, maybe A, rank mission. They continued on, nevertheless. They met and Kakashi fought Zabuza before he was hit and carried off by the same hunter-nin from their last mission. After a week of rest, they headed to the bridge to supervise the construction when Zabuza and Haku, the hunter-nin, attacked them. Kakashi fought Zabuza and Sasuke fought Haku. Naruto was back in town asleep. He had woken and ran to the bridge only to see sword marks and worried about Inari and his mother, Tsunami. Naruto doubled back and swiftly defeated the ninjas, proud of how Inari had stood up for what was right. Naruto hurried to the bridge and arrived. He jumped in to help Sasuke inside the mirrors, promising himself he wouldn't let him fall this time. Unfortunately, both of the boys fell to the senbon of Haku. Hinata saw them fall and started to cry. Her rage started to build up, no doubt because of her link to Kyuubi, which she failed to notice was still active, and charged the ice dome, fists flying. With her jyuken, she made quick work of Haku, but before she could kill the girl, she stopped. They looked to where Kakashi and Zabuza were fighting when the mist cleared. Zabuza was trapped by a bunch of summoned dogs and Kakashi was about to ready a jutsu. It was then that an arrow stuck in Zabuza's arm. They looked to see Gato and a large group of mercenaries at the end of the bridge. Zabuza was now useless to the man and he was going to finish him off. An arrow, that was too quick for a normal shot, flew through the air and pierced Zabuza's head from one side to the other. The single chakra-user of the group was the first to die when Haku shoved Hinata off and charged them. All of the mercenaries died horrible, senbon-related, deaths. Gato was the last one left. He tried to defend with his cane but Haku just grabbed it and shoved the end through the short man's sternum and out of his back, barely missing his spine. After Haku calmed down, they buried and gave Zabuza a funeral. They convinced Haku to come back to Konoha where she could live happily.

The Chuunin exams began a few weeks after they returned. Team Seven was entered and they breezed through the first two exams. The only hold up was when Orochimaru attacked then in the Forest of Death. They put up a good fight but he incapacitated all three of them. He put his curse mark on Sasuke. Then, on a whim, he put one on Hinata and Naruto, thinking they would prove to be good soldiers. What he hadn't counted on, was the Kyuubi counteracting the curse seals and destroying all of Orochimaru's chakra in them, replacing it with her own. This allowed for any strain that would have been on the body, reduced to nothing. Orochimaru never did learn about that single detail. They made it to the tower and proceeded with the preliminaries. All three passed them and began their training. Sasuke trained with Kakashi while Naruto and Hinata trained under Jiraiya. They all learned a summon, but they never learned what Sasuke's was, as he never used it, in front of them. Naruto signed the frog contract and Hinata signed the cat summoning contract. They continued on into the final exam. They all won their first match. Hinata managed to beat some sense into Neji by defying fate and winning, showing her stubborn cousin that fate was nothing and could easily be swayed with the will. During Gaara and Shino's fight, the attack by Sound and Sand started. Gaara was carried off into the forest by his siblings because he had wasted too much chakra to summon up the tanuki sealed inside of him. Team Seven and Shino chased after them. Temari tried to stop them but Sasuke made quick work of her, not even injuring or killing her. When they caught up, so did she. She took off again while Kankuro fought. Shino stayed to fight him. Gaara woke up and Temari set him down. He knocked her out of the tree and the fight commenced. Gaara got increasingly angry at the three Genin and formed a life size body of the Shukaku. Naruto summoned Gamabunta and they fought. After Gaara used a forced sleep jutsu, they had to catch the wild tanuki and get Naruto to Gaara. The sand tried to stop him but Naruto got in a powerful head butt. Gaara woke and the tanuki fell into pieces. Naruto punched Gaara one last time and finally made the red-head understand why Naruto had beaten him. How he had protected those precious to him. Two days later, Naruto learned that Orochimaru had lost the use of his arms but had succeeded in his goal to kill the Sandaime Hokage. The next day, they attended the funeral. Minato decided that it was time to show the Genin to the Namikaze Estate that was hidden so well inside of the Hokage Monument. Only one of blood or a lover, could open it. There was a large scroll library that only had a single shelf filled with scrolls that the fourth had put there. Following that day, Naruto and Hinata left with Jiraiya to find Tsunade and bring her back to become the Godaime Hokage.

A month later, they returned with Tsunade in tow. Naruto, with his weird way, had convinced Tsunade to become the Hokage and had managed to get her necklace in a bet. They hadn't seen Sasuke for a month and couldn't find him the whole day, until it was night. They felt him through the link and rushed to the Uchiha District. They found him jumping off with the Sound Four. Hinata and Naruto quickly reported to the Hokage and, without any other ninja, ordered them to gather a group of Genin and Shikamaru to go after them. The group consisted of Naruto, Hinata, Shikamaru, Kiba, Chouji, and Neji. Along the way they had lost their allies one by one. Chouji stopped to fight the large Jirobu of the Sound Four. Neji had stopped to fight Kidomaru. Kiba stopped to fight Sakon and Ukon and Shikamaru stopped to fight Tayuya. Each time the barrel, that held the transforming Sasuke, to a different member until only Tayuya was left. That was when the pale Kimimaro arrived to take over. Hinata and Naruto were the only two left and had stopped to fight Kimimaro in an open field. Shortly after they began, Sasuke came out of the barrel and gave a look to Naruto and Hinata that, strangely, calmed them. They had to fight a bit longer before Rock Lee came in, saying he was sent as backup. Naruto and Hinata chased after Sasuke again and found him at the Valley of the End. Naruto used the link to mentally talk with Sasuke. This was the time that the plan they had devised was revealed to the would-be readers. They had planned for Sasuke to join Orochimaru willingly and spy on him. Naruto, however, had sensed two presences and alerted Sasuke to them. One was a member of the Akatsuki and the other was a spy eagle summon from one of the Konoha council members. They had to fight and make it seem real. Unfortunately, the full advancement of Sasuke's Sharingan and the activation of a never-known bloodline limit in Naruto caused adrenaline rushes and they fought with their all. Naruto's bloodline limit was the Hayaifuugan. It was an eye kekkai genkai that formed a number of smaller pupils around the main one. Naruto had nine pupils, most likely because of his mother being the nine-tailed fox. With the bloodline, the user was able to comprehend movement much better and at much higher speeds than the Sharingan could but it could not predict movement. The eye also allowed the user to see and copy seals that they came across in the same way that the Sharingan copied jutsus. Naruto went fully into a single-tailed fox cloak and Sasuke went up to Cursed Seal level Two. They had completely forgotten that they were just fighting as a show and had gone all out. The final clash of Sasuke's Chidori and Naruto's Rasengan ended with Naruto losing. Hinata rushed down to help Naruto as Sasuke jumped away into Rice country. Kakashi arrived later in the middle of Hinata healing Naruto and carried him back to Konoha.

It was only a few days after that the initial departure and later escape of Sasuke were blamed on Naruto along with the blame that he was the cause that his teammates had been injured to near death. The council exiled Naruto form Konoha and gave him a day to get out. Tsunade hadn't stopped it, or rather, she couldn't. Naruto was pissed but he hid it. He just grabbed his stuff and left the next day. He found Hinata to be following him. She hated the village as much as Naruto did for what they did and there was no convincing her to stay there. Jiraiya cursed the village and vowed to never help it again. He left, never to be seen by Konoha ninjas ever again. The result of Naruto being exiled was the uprising and attempted resignation of the rest of the Rookie Nine, Team Gai, and multiple other ninjas that had grown fond of the blond boy. Tsunade eventually calmed them down and convinced them to stay after she explained that this would be better for him, to be away from the negative villagers.

Naruto and Hinata wandered around Fire country for a few days before they were attacked. It was ANBU ROOT under order to kill and dispose of the demon container and his friend. Naruto and Hinata couldn't stand up to the full force of five ANBU members, let alone ROOT members. They were only saved by the interference of a wandering mercenary. Bokura Takaro and his partner fox, Ruse, defeated the ROOT members and helped the two to escape. They befriended the mercenary and learned that the fox, who had two-tails, could talk, thought, hardly ever did he. Bokura was a man that always tried to get a woman but always failed and sprung right back after a rejection. (A/N: Kind of like Miroku from Inuyasha but without the physical aspects.) He was a high-Jonin level ninja somehow. He claimed he had never lived in a village but always hid his past. His forte was a bunch of weird and stupid D-rank jutsus that had hardly any use in the ninja world. Yeah, he had created over a hundred of his own jutsus...but they were all D-rank and had no use to a ninja. The really weird thing was that he had fox ears and a tail, but when asked if he was a hanyou, he said it was just another of his custom-made jutsus.

It was a year later that Sasuke escaped form the Sound village and found Naruto and Hinata. He ushered them back into the Namikaze Estate from the back and unloaded a backpack that was packed with twenty five scrolls. They were all storage scrolls that held fifty, each, of Orochimaru's scroll collection. There was, approximately, one thousand two hundred and fifty jutsu and information scrolls there. Naruto, Hinata, and even Minato almost wet themselves at the massive amount of scrolls. Sasuke said he had been copying and sealing the scrolls for the whole year, while taking training from the Sannin. The snake had become suspicious that someone was snooping with his jutsu scrolls so Sasuke had left before he figured out that it was him. All of the scrolls were put in the jutsu library and filled almost a third of it. It was after the adrenaline rush wore off that Naruto told Sasuke what had happened. Sasuke was pissed and the others knew it. He disappeared the next day. They later learned that Sasuke had gone to Tsunade and demanded her to set up a village assembly. While she was surprised by Sasuke's sudden arrival, she set it up for the following day. Sasuke appeared the next day on top of the Hokage tower and addressed all of the shocked people below him. He outright quit Konoha because of what they did to Naruto. He disappeared faster than anyone could grab him. The council sent out way too many ANBU squads, trying to get Sasuke back in, without the demon, if they could. The ANBU never did find them. All of Konoha had been devastated by the loss of the last Uchiha because of the council's stupid decision. Nonetheless, they still hated Naruto and blamed it all on him. The three fox Genin traveled around with Bokura and Ruse, under highly advanced transformation jutsus that used Kyuubi's chakra. They could stay on indefinitely and avoid even the Byakugan, as Hinata found out. The first place they went was Wave country. When the arrived, though, the place was overrun with Sound ninja. The five fox men immediately wiped the country clean of the ninja and started what would be their goal to become the strongest ninja ever.

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**End of the Overview chapter. Chapter Two will be posted directly after this because I hate just posting one chapter, especially when it doesn't even get into the actual storyline.**

**This was actually a short chapter, but I did not want to begin the story in this one. I want to start it in a new chapter.**

**Read and Review. I'll be adding question and such at the end of the next chapter.**


	2. The Plea for Help

**Second chapter, the story actually begins.**

**I really don't have anything to say in these Author notes for this story. Maybe I will later.**

**I'll post some questions and options for readers to help form the story at the ends of chapters.**

**I don't set physical review goals anymore, since I rarely even approach them. But in case anyone asks, my mental goal is 10 before I get Chapter 5 out. Low compared to others, but then again, I don't get many reviews compared to them either :P Doesn't dampen my love to write, though. Even thought I keep changing fanfics**

**Disclaimer: All recognizable content belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.**

"Blah" Dialog

_Blah_ Thinking; Naruto (during mental conversation)

_**Blah**_ Kyuubi

_Blah_ Hinata

**Blah** Minato

_**Blah**_ Sasuke

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Chapter 2: The Plea For Help

_Six Years After the Sandaime's Death and Naruto's Banishment; Hokage's Office_

Tsunade, the Godaime Hokage, was pacing behind her desk. She had a problem and it would mean the end of Konoha if she couldn't rectify it. Iwa and Kumo had their own jinchuuriki and were trying to start a war with the Leaf. The slug sannin knew that the Sound village was backing them and probably the cause for all of it too. Ever since Naruto had been exiled and Sasuke had left, the village's shinobi had been getting more careless and sloppy. They still managed to keep their lives, but their missions were less effective and took longer to complete. This was bad for the village, especially if another village found out. She desperately wished that Jiraiya was there to help, but he had vowed to never come back to Konoha because of Naruto's unruly banishment. Jiraiya was a great asset and one of the sannin, but he had turned his back on his village in shame. Shame in the village because of their racial discrimination against Naruto and the unjustifiable and stupid reasons for his having to leave. Tsunade had believed, long ago, that Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata had been killed when they names were never mentioned or heard ever again. The Akatsuki activity had lowered four years ago and she had assumed that they had gotten the Kyuubi and killed Team Seven. She was devastated when she had come to this conclusion and it was the only one that seemed to fit the bill. Konoha had lost the last of the Uchiha clan and their ticket to winning the war, Naruto, even though Tsunade hated thinking of Naruto like that, she knew it was true.

The tired Hokage hadn't gotten a wink of sleep for the past two nights. She had been pacing and searching for any allies and help she could find. They only had Suna as a major ally, along with a few smaller shinobi nations. She knew they couldn't stand against two large nations and a smaller nation that was almost as strong as one of the five shinobi nations. Tsunade was in ruins and everyone that knew her, knew it. She had come to the decision that the only possible choice she could make was to get the legendary Kitsune Legion to help her. They had become infamous in the last couple of years as a group of teens that used a jutsu to create fake fox ears, tails, and whiskers. They go around as mercenaries and are hired to do jobs. They had been rumored to be the ones that had weakened the Akatsuki three years prior, two weeks after the Akatsuki's activity had dropped down. Since it was after their activity dropped, she knew they didn't cause that. They had also been reported to act on impulse against nins occasionally that had reportedly 'pissed them off.' She knew of their strength, everyone did. It was just a matter if she could get them to help Konoha. They were the second best thing after Naruto, but he was long gone. The first time she had heard of the Kitsune Legion, there was a spark of hope that it had contained at least one of the three Genin that made up Team Seven. Then, when she had finally seen them, one day in the field, she realized none of them were anything close. The only similarity was the golden hair that was close to Naruto's own yellow hair. The Golden Fox was reported to be the leader of the group. The rest had special names too, but she had forgotten them. She was sure Shikamaru had been able to remember both their code names and their real names, as the code names were fan-created.

A knock on the door signified her that the group she had requested had arrived. "Come in." she called tiredly. The door opened and in filed the nine most trustworthy ninja she had in the village. The six that remained of the Rookie Nine from six years ago and What was once Team Gai. Sakura Haruno, Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame, Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara, Chouji Akimichi, Tenten, Neji Hyuuga, and Rock Lee. The only people she trusted her life with in the village.

"I am sending you on a retrieval mission." They all nodded at the woman's words. "You will be going after the Kitsune Legion. It is common knowledge to everyone where they live. You will be entering the Forest of the Fox and searching for them house or den, whatever they use. This potential war is not in our favor and we must gain an advantage, even with Suna, we're not off too good. You're the only ones I can trust with this mission. I know that everyone usually never makes it back out of the forest, but you guys are Konoha's best and I trust you can at least escape if need be." She looked at the four Jonins: Kiba, Neji, Tenten and Shikamaru. "Shikamaru and Neji will be team leaders. This trip should take at most just over two weeks to complete. I want you to settle a deal with them, at all costs. They are our only hope in winning this war. I know it sounds pitiful, but there is no one else to help us, not after Jiraiya left us, his spy network going with him. Tell them anything to get them to come back, we'll discuss arrangements after they arrive. I have already discussed this with the council and they have agreed. They know the situation is desperate and we need the Kitsune Legion's help. Konoha is even ready to pay in the millions of ryo, but don't you tell them that." Tsunade sat down heavily in her chair behind her desk and rubbed her temples. Her voice lowered from her commanding one to her normal one. "We have to win this inevitable war or there is going to be millions of innocent deaths and Konoha will be brought down. We can't let that happen. Naruto wouldn't let that happen." She whispered the last sentence to herself but everyone caught it. They all knew how much she missed their favorite blond. They all missed him too and had tried to quit because the council exiled him, but alas, Tsunade was right when it would've been better for him to stay away from the villager's hatred. Most of them had put two and two together and figure Akatsuki had gotten Naruto since they hadn't heard of him and knew they were after him, though only Neji, Shino, and Shikamaru knew why.

"Hai, Hokage-sama." said Neji with a nod, though his stoic expression remained ever diligent. Tsunade waved them off and laid her head on her desk. The Chuunin and Jonin immediately body flickered out of the office.

A few minutes later, at Konoha's massive gates, the nine gathered again. "We'd heading out. I will set the pace, you will keep up. We'll make it there in six days if the weather holds up. The Forest of the Fox lies just south of bird country, within Wind country. Move out!" Neji shot into the tree with the other eight hot on his heels. Shikamaru moved up even with the Hyuuga.

"Tsunade is really down about Naruto still, after six years. It's too troublesome." The shadow user shook his head."

"I agree. But there is nothing we can do short of bringing the blond back to life. Everyone already knows he's dead. Unless he magically disappeared from the face of this planet. " The stoic Hyuuga kept facing forward with his bloodline limit activated, watching for any threats.

"We have to get the Kitsune Legion to help." said Ino with a sad determination. "If we can't get them to join, Konoha is doomed and Tsunade might..." The blond girl bit her bottom lip.

"Lost it." Kiba finished for her. "That's why we're going to get them to help!" He yelled. "If not, we'll beat them down until they do!" The dog boy was swiftly smacked over the head.

"Quiet, mutt." said an angry Sakura. "Do you want the whole forest to know we're here!?" Kiba pouted at her. They had been on the same Genin team and remained on a team even after they became Chuunin and he got Jonin. He was used to her biting comments and knew she was never serious.

The group continued moving.

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It was six days later, as Neji had predicted, when they reached the accursed forest. It had a dark and ominous felling about it, like it sucked up all of the light. They had to pass through the hostile territory of Rain country and through the dry and hot deserts of Wind country, but that didn't compare to the feeling the forest was giving them.

"I-I suddenly don't want to do this mission anymore." said Ino, hiding behind Shikamaru, who just sighed.

"Troublesome." The shadow user muttered. He heard growl coming from behind him.

"No forest is going to scare me off!" Kiba yelled and walked up to it with the large Akamaru by his side. "Tsunade believes we can do it! So we will! We can't let her down, especially not now." Kiba's voice lowered a bit. "Let's go!" Shikamaru sighed at the dog boy ran into the darkness with his dog. Before he could even mutter his catchphrase, Ino had grabbed a hold of his arm and dragged him after the rest of their friends.

When they entered the forest, they immediately noticed the lack of light. The canopy completely blocked out any sunlight. Ino and Sakura, of course, knew just what to do. They both activated a jutsu that was mostly unique to woman. It was a simple light around the hand that brightened with added chakra. A lot of guys had to learn it before becoming Jonin, but they never used it. Instead, all the guys preferred to use fire, instinctly.

The group slowly crept through the forest, wary of any creatures that could attack them or any traps they might call into. Neji was in mental anguish because he was having trouble with his Byakugan. He couldn't see any farther than three yards all around him. It was like the forest was dimming his bloodline limit. They continued in the darkness for a few hours. The trek was long and boring. They had to walk because there were no branches low enough and there was no light to see. They certainly wouldn't be able to see with the girls' mobile light flinging around everywhere. No, they had to stay on the ground and walk, a ninja's worst nightmare.

When they estimated that they were near the center of the forest, they came upon a clearing. There was a dim light that was shining down from a gap in the trees. There was enough light to see that there was a house with five figures on or near the wooden porch. None of the figures moved when the group entered the clearing, but everyone could feel that all five were watching them. They walked far enough so that they were only twenty yards from the porch. The figures still hadn't moved. Everyone looked over the odd looking people.

The person on the right side of the porch was sitting on the wooden rails with one leg hanging over while he rested his chin on the propped up knee of the other leg. His wore an almost-tight black t-shirt and baggy black pants with a katana strapped to his back. His long hair had a dark green tint to it and almost touched the porch from where he sat. Sticking up from under his hair were two dark green fox ears, a dark green tail swishing around behind him. His face had three whisker marks on each cheek and held an emotionless expression. Laying on the ground behind the male was a large red and orange fox with three tails. It seemed to be sleeping but everyone could see the single eye staring at them, it was blood red.

Across on the other side of the porch was the only female on the team. She had lavender hair that ran down to her mid-back and lavender pupils. She had a lavender skirt over black pants and a lavender tank top. Under the tank top was a net shirt than extended halfway down her biceps. The girl of the team seemed to have a lavender fetish. Even her fox ears and tail were lavender. The whisker marks were thin on her and they seemed to have a faint lavender tint to them. She was leaning over the railing with her arms around the male in front of her. He was leaning against the railing with a slightly pissed look on his face. His golden yellow hair stuck up a foot in all direction except for where the girl had her head resting on his. He wore dark golden pants and a dark golden muscle shirt under a black jacket. His tail, ears, and, most noticeably, his eyes were a dark golden that was on par with his hair. His whisker marks were much more feral than anyone else's in the clearing.

Sitting on the steps as the final member of the group. He had black everything. He had on a black t-shirt, black short, black zoris, black ears, a black tail, black eyes, and even black hair. His hair was tied in a sloppy ponytail that left his bangs to hang slightly over his eyes. The back of the ponytail fell to his shoulder but was spiked out dramatically.

"Their chakra stores...they're huge." said Neji.

Shikamaru pointed to the green-haired man. "Bokura Takaro, Kitsune Green," He pointed at the fox. "Ruse, Chibi Kitsune," His finger traveled to the lavender girl. "Tanahi, Lavender Kitsune," To the golden-haired boy. "Toruna, Golden Fox," Then he pointed to the dark boy on the steps. "Kesusa, Kuro Kitsune. The Kitsune Legion." He said in his bored voice.

"You're well informed." said the Golden-haired boy that was named as Toruna. "What do you want here?" His voice was gruff and demanding. Kiba didn't like it one bit but decided to hold it in.

"We're here to ask for assistance. The Leaf is going to war relatively soon and we stand next to no chance of survival. The Hokage is prepared to offer just about anything for your services." Shikamaru explained.

"No." said Toruna without a second thought.

"What's you're problem you stuck up ass!?" yelled Kiba. "Why the hell won't you help us!"

"We will not help a village that throws someone out for the thing that was inside of him and things that weren't his fault. The Leaf is the top on our list of the hated." said Bokura, the green-tinted boy.

Only Shino, Neji, and Shikamaru understood what he was talking about. The others held a look of confusion, although Kiba had a look of confusion and anger which made him look stupid. Shikamaru quickly answered. "He means Naruto." The others nodded their heads in understanding but confused about the first part.

"It may have just been that he was kin, but Naruto was one of my best friends. Leaf will not have my pity. They lost the war the day they threw the blond out." said Bokura, his face and voice betraying no emotion. Kiba growled at the ignorant man.

"You stupid assholes! This isn't about Naruto and whatever that fucking council did to him! This is about saving all the innocent lives in Konoha! You're no better than the demon Kyuubi that attacked us in the first place!" Kiba was yelling and fling spittle all over the ground.

The golden-haired kitsune stood up straight, with the girl still hanging onto him. "Learn your place mutt." He said in a menacing voice. Kiba was about to retort when his jaw and every other muscle and joint in his body locked up. Nobody in the clearing could move, not even the other four on the porch, though they didn't need to. It was Toruna's killing intent. It was so intense that they had no chance of breaking out of it. "This is our home and our turf. We do as we please, and we don't wish to help your pathetic village. Konoha dug itself into this hole. They'll have to dig themselves out of it." He released the killing intent and lowered himself back into the girls grip. His eyes were piercing, almost daring Kiba to counter attack. Kiba audibly gulped.

"Well then." said Shino. He turned to walk away. "We'll have to go back without them. Tsunade is going to be devastated." Shino received the reaction he wanted. Toruna twitch slightly when he said Tsunade's name. He had a fleeting idea of Toruna's true identity.

Neji was the first to notice the slight movement and acted on it. "You know Tsunade, don't you?" he said, more of a statement that a question. Toruna's eyes glazed over slightly.

_Tsunade. So long since I've seen her. I had hated her when she didn't stop the banishment, even though I knew deep down that not even the Hokage could've overrule the entire council. He had also understood her intentions too. She had wanted Naruto to be away from the villager's glares and hatred._ Toruna torn himself from his thoughts and gazed over the Leaf nins in front of him. His face softened a bit and he sighed. "Yes."

"How?" said Shikamaru. "Tsunade has shown that she doesn't know anything about anyone in the Kitsune Legion." Shikamaru's confidence built a bit when he saw the male sigh again.

Toruna looked at the black male and the female. They both nodded before all three turned back to the group. "Are you sure you want to know the truth?" he asked, positive that they'd say yes.

"Of course!" yelled Kiba. The rest just nodded their agreement. The golden fox sighed again. He formed a single hand sign and there was a burst of smoke that covered the left side of the porch and part of the right. Bokura was the only one still visible and he now had a smirk on his face. The Konoha ninja immediately brought out weapons when the smoke went off. When it cleared, everyone's jaw dropped. Where the Golden Fox had stood was now a perfect replica of the fourth Hokage, aside from the long ponytail of spiked yellow hair, the three whisker marks on his face, and his clothes. The girl now had a darker purple, but still obviously lavender-tinted, hair. She still had her fox features too but her eyes were now pupil less. The black boy was...the same. The only difference was that his eyes were now an onyx color. He slowly closed his eyes and opened them to reveal red eyes with three tomoe around the pupil.

"It's nice to see you again." The white-eyed girl said.

"I knew it." muttered Shino from the back.

"N-Naruto? Hinata? Sasuke!?" Sakura said. "It is you!" Sakura almost ran up to hug them when a hand shot in front of her. Shikamaru had stopped her.

"Just because they have shown their real identity, does not mean they are not hostile." said the shadow user.

"But they're out friends!" Ino almost yelled. Neji turned a cold eye on her.

"Just like Orochimaru was a friend of Tsunade and Jiraiya." Neji's words rung true and the girls calmed down. He turned back to the porch. "I do wonder, how the transformations were hidden from the Byakugan."

Bokura's smirk widened. "That would be thanks to me!" he said, almost too excitedly. "I have made over three hundred jutsus by now. They're all D-rank, maybe a few C-rank and practically worthless in battle or for a ninja, but I find very much use in them."

"You bastards!" yelled Kiba. "You won't even help your own village!" His fist was clenched and shaking. Naruto straightened and his killing intent flared again, only directed at Kiba this time.

"Silence, you mutt! I don't give a damn what village I am from!" Naruto's temper lowered a bit and so did the killing intent that leaked out of him, but Kiba still couldn't move. "I hate the village with a passion. Why? Because every villager in that stinking town hates me, glares at me, beats me! I was beaten twice DAILY before I moved in with Kakashi when I ten! I was treated back and kicked out of almost EVERY store in Konoha! The council placed the blame of Sasuke leaving, escaping, and you guys getting injured, all on ME! Konoha is a piece of shit! The only reason we haven't destroyed it yet is because we don't want to hurt you guys by destroying everything you hold dear. Konoha is lucky you guys are there, if you were all dead or had left the village, it would have been destroyed long ago. I was never welcome in that village and I never will be. The council crushed my dream of being Hokage! The villagers crushed my bones! The senior ninjas crushed my spirit! That stupid ass happiness was just a damn act! I didn't even understand WHY they hated me until I was twelve! My whole life has been shit in that accursed village! I even went as far as to hate Tsunade until I realized why she let them kick me out. I even thank her now. Ever since I left Konoha, my life has been happier and much better off. In other villages, I can walk into any random shop and not be kicked out. I'm happy away from Konoha, with my Hinata-chan." Naruto nuzzled his head into Hinata's shoulder and smiled.

"One hundred million ryo." Came the calm and deeper voice of the last Uchiha.

"Deal." said Shikamaru. The rest of the Konoha nins dropped their mouths in surprise. "Although it's not my place to accept the deal. You'd have to take it up with Tsunade, but she said to bring you back no matter what. If that means that much money, then so be it."

"Shikamaru, you're crazy!" yelled Ino. "They'll never go for it!" Shikamaru stared at her blankly.

"You underestimate desperation." said Neji. "If we went back and told her, I have no doubt that she'd want to accept, if only to have them back in Konoha for a few days. The council might have a bit of trouble, but they know exactly how bad the situation is." He turned his attention to the blond that was nestled in his cousin's shoulder. He was deep in thought.

"That'll work. Nothing less or your village is on it's own." Naruto turned and was about to walk into the house when a voice stopped him.

"Wait! Naruto." said Sakura with a bit of worry. "Why do all of the villagers hate you? Why haven't you told us before? You can trust us!" she was almost pleading. Naruto turned an emotionless gaze on her.

"I never even had friends until I entered the academy. I never had bonds until Kakashi took me in. I treasured those bonds beyond anything else in my life. The only thing that telling my secret would have done is break those bonds. It's not about trust, Sakura. It's about maintaining the things I loved more than life itself, my friends." He turned back to the door.

"Friends don't keep secrets!" the pink-haired kunoichi yelled. "Friends can tell each other anything and not worry about what they think about it! True friends are for life!" Sakura had both of her fists clenched and was panting heavily. "You're the one not being a friend."

Naruto flinched at her last words. They hurt him more than any physical wound he'd ever taken. His blue eyes gazed down at the boards on the porch and a look of guilt pasted itself on his face. Hinata had a worried look on her face and was rubbing the blond's shoulders.

"She's right." the blond muttered, more to himself than anyone else. Sakura felt bad now. She was the reason he had such a hurt and guilty look on his face. He turned to the group that was watching him. They could all see the pain on his face now. It was terrible seeing such pain on a face that they had always know to show happiness or playful anger. "I'll tell you while I'm explaining the rest of the situation to Tsunade-sama." Naruto turned and with a flash of yellow was gone, along with Hinata.

"Poor Naruto." said Sakura. "I feel so bad."

"Don't." same the voice of the Uchiha. "You had every right to say it. It may have hurt him, but it will be for the best later. His secret was a double S-class secret in the village. That was why you guys never knew it. Me and Hinata only found out because someone slipped and screwed his cover over. He should have told you guys years ago but his fear of losing his friends was greater than anything else in him back then. He always protected his friends because he cared because they cared, about him. That was the single reason that made me tell him that I was going to Orochimaru for a year or more as a spy. He was the only one who knew it aside from Hinata." Sasuke turned and entered the house with Bokura and Ruse right behind him.

The Konoha ninjas looked at each strangely while they waited for the fox ninjas to come back out. They were all abnormally silent. They had all accepted the time frame when Naruto would tell them his secret because, well, he never told them any of his secrets before. It only took them a few minutes to come back out of their wooden abode. The only real differences were the kunai holsters and weapons pouches that were now strapped to their waist and legs. The other thing that was different was the forehead protector that each wore, it had the outline of a fox head on it. They wordlessly walked past the Leaf ninja and into the forest. Said ninja followed the foxes.

Talking was a minimum while they were in the forest and after they got out of it. The Golden Fox seemed to be in deep thought. It seemed that even Sasuke allowed the blond his time. They could tell that Sasuke respected the blond by the way they interacted the few times that they did.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

It took them five days before they were near Konoha. There was a mile left and night had fallen half an hour beforehand. Naruto stopped and the rest followed suit.

"Why are we stopping?" asked Sakura. Naruto turned to her with no trace of an emotion on his face.

"You'll see in the morning. I'm not about to go back into my village at night either." Naruto used a strange doton jutsu to make some rocks before lighting a fire inside of them with a few stray twigs. He pulled a log from the forest and set it near the fire where he and Hinata took a seat on it with their backs to the warmth while the rest set up their sleeping bags. "We'll take first watch." The rest nodded their agreement and settled down. The only sound in the clearing was the crackle of the fire and the occasional munch on a chip from Chouji.

Hinata snuggled into Naruto's shoulder and fell asleep. Naruto couldn't help but smile at her. His smile faded but otherwise didn't respond to the approach of Kiba and Akamaru. They dropped themselves on the ground next to the log that Naruto sat on. Neither said anything and Naruto attempted to ignore the boy and dog's presence. He succeeded for a while but had to give in.

The blond boy let out a sigh. "I really did miss you guys, all of you. I would have come to visit before but we didn't care to deal with Konoha's ANBU and lower their defenses even more. We've known about this war far longer than they have." Naruto continued talking quietly so as to not wake the girl on his shoulder. "I'm glad to be going back, really. I can deal with anyone that thinks they're strong enough to stop me. But, the council is going to have to pay a hefty price to get the Kitsune Legion's help. Much more than if any other nation hired us." Kiba chuckled and Naruto look at the dog boy.

"You're the same old Naruto. Sure, you've changed physically and have grown darker, maybe just to Konoha, but you're still the Naruto we all knew. I just wish you could come back to the village. I miss my sparring partner." Naruto didn't smile.

"That may be, but I still hate the village with a passion and I'm leaving as soon as we get our money and this war is won. Truly, you guys are the only reason that village still stands today. I would've single-handedly destroyed it two years ago. We're only doing this for the money, and...for a chance to see all of our friends again." Kiba was a bit deflated at the blond's decision. He hoped they could convince them to stay and rejoin the village, they would force the council to let him back in if they had to.

"Whatever happened to the boy that went on and on about becoming Hokage?" Kiba inquired.

"He died, the night ANBU ROOT attacked me and Hinata six long years ago. I can't very well become Hokage in a village that hates and shuns me. It will be fun to see the councils faces, though, after I show them who I really am after we sign the contract." Naruto smirked, the first smile Kiba had seen since on Naruto for a long time. Kiba was about to respond when a white fur ball landed in front of him. The fur ball uncurled to reveal an old male's face with two red lines running from each eye to the bottom of the jaw.

"Welcome, Jiraiya." said Naruto, his smirk now a smile. "Long time no see, eh ero-sennin?"

"You're still calling me that!?" Jiraiya whined quietly."You'd think that six years would change something." The old man straightened up. "So, what are you doing out here, Naruto? Not just for the fun of it, seeing as your only a mile from Konoha."

"We're working to help them in the war. They're paying us, we help, we leave. They're lucky we even decided to help them out. I would have_loved_to watch them fall to Iwa and Kumo. Fortunately for them, their enemy is mine. Orochimaru has lived far too long for my liking and he's nearing the end of his life." Naruto grinned. "Then I'm going to watch those bastards' jaws drop when I drag the dead body of one of their most powerful ninja into their village."

The pervert hermit smirked. "I'm going to have to be there to see that! I can't wait to see that bastard teammate of mine get his. I would have stopped him long ago, but I've never been enough by myself. They must be having to pay a large sum of money for your services. I'll wait and see when we get to the village. Can't have me absent for the great reunion, can we!?" The old man laughed quietly. Naruto and Kiba sweatdropped.

"Especially when they realize that it's their precious demon brat. I should have brought a camera." Naruto was smiling, Kiba was confused and Jiraiya was grinning mischievously. Naruto let his smile fall and sighed. "Kiba, go get some sleep. We're heading out early tomorrow. You'll find out everything once we get to the Hokage's tower." Kiba silently nodded and ushered Akamaru back to their sleeping bag. Jiraiya gave a wave and jumped into a tree to get his sleep.

Naruto turned to Hinata and his smile came back. He brought his had up to softly stroke her furry ear. It would twitch every now and then but a small grin appeared on the girl's face. He pulled her closer to him and kept an eye out. "Danger approaches in the near future."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

The sun was just rising above the horizon. Morning came and every was up and about. Naruto had sat on the log all night long with Hinata curled up against him. He hadn't changed shifts at all during the night, yet he appeared fully awake. After even had packed their bags and was ready to move, Naruto stood up with Hinata at his side.

The blond turned to the rest. "We start moving when Jiraiya returns." As if on cue, Jiraiya dropped form the trees.

"Naruto, I've gathered what I need and scouted the tower. She is awake and doesn't seem to have any appointment for a few hours." Naruto nodded to the old man.

"So, this is who you were waiting for." said Sakura. Naruto gave her a slight nod before forming a few hand signs. A cloud of smoke went up and Toruna, Tanahi, and Kesusa were back in their respective spots.

"Let's go. Report just the essentials to the gate guards and we go straight to the tower, all of us." Naruto just jumped off with Hinata at his side.

They reached Konoha in a few minutes and walked up to the large gates. Hinata smiled at the memory of the large gates, Naruto frowned, and Sasuke seemed to ignore everything. The Chuunin checked over the IDs and the mission description.

"Welcome to Konoha, Kitsune Legion." said the unnamed Chuunin. They all ignored him. Neji jumped off and led the group to the largest building in the village. They silently entered the building and passed the guards to arrive at the door that Naruto hadn't seen for six long years. He had missed storming the doors and complaining to the old man and the old lady about something or other that held no real importance. Before he could finish his thoughts, though, Sakura knocked on the door and they were invited in.

As they entered, the Lead nins lined up along the two walls while the Kitsune Legion and Jiraiya stood in the middle of the room. Naruto looked to where he knew the Hokage would be and saw Tsunade sitting behind the desk with her head down signing a paper. A tear almost came to his eye when he realized how much he had missed her. He had forgotten that he was undercover. "Obaa-chan." It was said with a longing and slightly sad voice and everyone heard it.

Tsunade's head shot up on instinct, thinking of Naruto. When she saw that it was not Naruto, but the famed Kitsune Legion, she donned a sad smile. Jiraiya and Naruto both knew why and felt a bit guilty. She had missed Naruto more than anyone else and it had eaten away at her. The nickname the boy always called her had reminded her of Naruto. The fox ears, tails, and whisker marks on the visitors faces were probably no help. They were all reminders of the one boy that she felt she could consider as family. Her thoughts, very obviously, wandered to Naruto and she was lost in the sad sea of memories. Everyone in the room noticed it.

A cough from her old teammate brought her out of her daze and she swiftly apologized. Jiraiya sighed. He felt through a felt hand signs and a slight weight seemed to be lifted from the room. After that was a series of hand signs and his hand being placed on the wall. Neji activated his Byakugan to see that he could not see out of the walls.

"I have sound proofed and eye-proofed the room. Not even a Hyuuga will be able to know what happens in here." Naruto nodded at the old man's words. He turned back to Tsunade with a knowing smile and performed the genjutsu release. The smoke rose around the fox men and started to fade when Tsunade felt a great weight crash into her. Her ninja senses immediately activated and she pulled out a kunai when the smoke cleared. Hugging her was the boy she had thought was dead.

"N-Naruto? I-Is it really you?" She asked disbelievingly.

"Yes, obaa-chan." The voice, though a bit deeper that she remembered, was definitely Naruto's. She quickly returned the embrace with a passion. They both stood there hugging for a few minutes before they realized that there were people watching them...people they knew. Naruto immediately flashed back to the other side of the desk and Tsunade straighted her vest before sitting down. "We're back for a bit." Naruto said with a sad smile.

"So the world famous Kitsune Legion consists of two of Konoha's weaker missing-nin and 'demon boy.'" Tsunade said, after she noticed Sasuke and Hinata standing there, with a certain sarcasm on the last part. "If anyone knew, they would have upped you guys to S-rank missing-nin. Konoha truly lost a lot that day, six years ago. The council was too stupid to realize it." Naruto was still smiling, but the sadness was a bit less since he heard his unofficial grandmother insult the council.

Jiraiya pulled Naruto back and whispered something in Naruto's ear. Naruto's smile turned to a grim, yet sad, frown. "I think it's time...that everyone found out why the village despised me, as well as revealing a few secrets that nobody in their right mind could have though to be true." Naruto did the single hand sign for the Shadow Clone jutsu. There were two puffs off to the side of the room. The modified jutsu had become second nature to Naruto even after he had started to use his tenants actual chakra instead of his. "Meet...my parents." Naruto grinned widely and put his fists on his hips. His declaration brought a gasp to everyone around the room, even Shikamaru, except for Jiraiya and the other Kitsune.

Everyone in the room recognized the male figure, even though only the two Sannin had ever actually seen him. They knew his as, "The Yondaime!" yelled Kiba. Naruto sweatdropped. Nobody seemed to know who the woman was except for Tsunade.

"Minato? Kushina?" Tsunade was shocked and couldn't organize her thoughts.

"Yes, Kushina was my human name, to the few who knew of me. I prefer my real name of..."

"Kyuubi." came the shadow user's voice. "I figured it out quite a few years ago."

Naruto had a smile but his sadness showed with his lowered head and his eyes. "Yes, Kyuubi...my mother. She was sealed in me by my father after her rampage, eighteen years ago. Even though the textbooks say that both Kyuubi and Minato died from the jutsu, they're both lies. The jutsu sealed my mother inside of me and, by using the jutsu on himself, my father. He, essentially, escaped death. This was a secret that was only known to Hinata, Sasuke, Jiraiya, Sandaime, Kakashi, and myself. I never ever told Bokura or Ruse about it. It was all too keep me safe until I was strong enough to fend off any of my father's old enemies." Naruto raised his head. "I'm strong enough now but we're not revealing the secret for a while, yet."

"That's why he was shunned and hated by most of the village. The close-minded fools saw Naruto as the Kyuubi instead of as her container. If they even knew the real reason she attacked the village...their anger would be refocused." Naruto was about to say something but Jiraiya continued. "No, none of you will find out until Kyuubi decides to divulge it herself."

"So, then, that makes Naruto a half-demon." said Shikamaru. "And the heir to whatever there was of the Namikaze clan."

"I've already gained all that belonged to the Namikaze clan before I was exiled. There is a large jutsu library that had a single shelf filled from the one and only, Yondaime. This was right before we left to find Tsunade. A year later, Sasuke came back from his espionage trip to Orochimaru's bases with copies of about one thousand two hundred and fifty scroll. The majority of which contained jutsus that he had learned over his years. I ever attained the clan's bloodline limit. It is similar to the Sharingan. It can perceive movement well beyond the Sharingan ever could, but it cannot predict it. It can memorize and duplicate a seal at a glance, just like the Sharingan copied jutsus. My father never really activated the second part of the eye, so he had to rely on his own memory to make the seals."

"The village hated you because you had the nine-tails stored inside of you?" Sakura stated more than asked. "How could they not see that you were just an innocent child forced to carry a burden that inevitably protected the village?"

"They're all stuck up assholes that are close-minded. Just like Neji used to be before Hinata beat some sense into him during the Chuunin exams." said Naruto with anger in his voice. "If only I could beat sense into all of them too..." Naruto mumbled the last part but everyone still heard. "The reason I kept this secret from everyone, except for Sasuke, Hinata, and Kakashi, was because I was afraid you guys would hate me like the villagers did. Back then, the few bonds I had were the most important things in my life. The only reason the rest of my team found out was because my father blew our cover by threatening his own jutsu, Rasengan on him, and when my mother scolded me for talking to my father like that. I'm just glad they could still accept me."

"Oh, Naruto, we wouldn't have hated you because you held the Kyuubi." said Ino in a friendly voice. "We all knew the real Naruto, not the 'demon child' one. There was simply no way a nice kid like you could have been the feared Kyuubi that everyone talked about. Though, now we see that she wasn't even like the rumors had said."

Tsunade sighed. "You guys can all review these things later, in your spare time. Now, why don't you introduce me to the other two members of the Kitsune Legion?"

Naruto raised an eyebrow and looked over at the green tinted fox man. "I forgot about them." Everyone sweatdropped. "The green-haired one is Bokura Takaro. He is a womanizer and a pervert. The best part is that he keeps his hands away from women and his body away from their hot springs, unlike someone I know." Naruto glared at Jiraiya, who backed away a bit from Tsunade's glare. "The fox is Ruse. He can talk but he rarely ever chooses to do so and rarely has anything important to say."

"Very well." Tsunade nodded to herself. "More introductions and such can wait until later. Bokura Takaro, Ruse, Naruto Uzumaki..." A cough stopped her.

"Naruto Namikaze." said the blond boy. Tsunade nodded.

"...Naruto Namikaze, Sasuke Uchiha, and Hinata Hyuuga. We..." Tsunade was interrupted by another cough, this time a lighter and feminine one. "Yes, Hinata?"

"Actually, it's um...Hinata Namikaze." the girl whispered. Naruto broke out into a large grin and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. Everyone else was dumbstruck.

"We all knew you liked Naruto, but you guys actually hooked up? Got married, nonetheless!?" yelled Ino. "Hinata! You have got to tell us the details later!"

"More than that!" Naruto yelled happily. "We even have a child!" Silence reigned in the room. Naruto suddenly realized that it was a bad idea to tell them that. He slowly turned his gaze to the, now-fuming, Tsunade.

"You got her pregnant!" yelled the old blond. "What on earth were you thinking!? And where the hell is the child now!?" Minato could have sworn he saw smoke coming of the Hokage's ears.

"She's...er...in Konoha." said Naruto shyly. "We brought her in two weeks after she was born."

"How did you get her into the village without anyone noticing?" asked Sakura.

"Me and Hinata snuck in under the cover of night and met up with Haku. She was more than willing to help us with the child. She had been taking care of her for almost an entire year now. Her first birthday is coming up next month. Since we're going to be in Konoha for a while, we're going to be taking care of her as long as we can." Naruto was smiling again. Tsunade was still angry but calming herself.

"What's her name?" asked Sakura. She, Ino and Tenten were ecstatic for Hinata and couldn't' wait to talk to her about it.

"We named her Kumei Namikaze." said Hinata shyly.

"Enough! You guys can talk about this in a minute. Kitsune Legion! Meet back here at eight in the afternoon and we'll discuss the circumstances and payment. Now out! Go gossip and talk, I'm done with you guys for the day." Tsunade let her head drop on her desk after they were all gone. _So many years, and they're still alive. Oh, the villagers are going to have a shit fit when they find out who they have to rely on._ Tsunade allowed herself a small chuckle before she left her office too. She would have to see the council and set the meeting up. No doubt they'd want to know who is protecting them.

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**End of Chapter 2.**

**Back in Konoha, Tsunade is setting up a meeting with the Council. How will they react when they find out who's protecting them? Eh, I'll figure it out.**

**Vote for who you want Sasuke to be with.**

**Sasuke x Sakura**

**Sasuke x Haku**

**Sasuke x Ino**

**Sasuke x Other**

**Personally, I want to match him with Haku. If he's not with Sakura, she'll be with Lee. If he's not with Ino, she'll be with Shikamaru. If he's not with Haku...she'll be...er...single **

**Read and Review and all that good junk.**


	3. Prove Your Worth

**Third chapter. Battles will start next chapter. All containing one or more of Kitsune Legion.**

**Sigh, one review. Oh well, won't stop me.**

**Naruto and Hinata, obviously, is the only pair I've decided on. I'll try to put off introducing Sasuke's pairing until the fourth of fifth chapter. Depends on if I get votes fast or not.**

**I'll say it now. I'm not making any lemons, maybe fluff or lime here and there, but I'm not making lemons. If someone else wants to make them, go ahead, I'll add them in if you do.**

**Disclaimer: All recognizable content belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.**

"Blah" Dialog

_Blah_ Thinking; Naruto (during mental conversation)

_**Blah**_ Kyuubi

_Blah_ Hinata

**Blah** Minato

_**Blah**_ Sasuke

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Chapter 3: Prove Your Worth

_After Meeting Tsunade; In Village_

Naruto was walking down a random street in Konoha with Hinata next to him. Both were back under the advanced transformation. Naruto was smiling and had his hands behind his head. Hinata walked with her hand looking up and her hands clasped behind her back.

"It's good to be back, ne?" asked Naruto. Hinata smiled.

"Yes it is, Naruto-kun. Want to go visit Haku and Kumei now?" Hinata looked up at Naruto. He was almost half a foot taller than her. She liked this look for Naruto, she had helped him design it, but she loved the normal Naruto more.

"Hey, yeah!" Naruto grabbed Hinata's hand and practically dragged her onto the roof of a nearby house. With a quick scan around him, he jumped off in the direction of Haku's home.

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Sasuke was wandering by himself. He had no real destination, he just wandered. He was reflecting on the past six years when a chill came over him. He shook his head and looked at his surroundings. He was at the gate to the Uchiha District. Unwanted memories came flooding back, yet, his feet continued to carry him forward. He relived the whole massacre and every encounter he'd had with Itachi since. Unconsciously, he opened a sliding door and entered a small building. It was the cover for the shrine that was hidden under a certain mat. Sasuke didn't notice. _Itachi, I killed you and avenged my clan. I even avoided following a darker path that yours. Yet, the foreboding feeling still lingers. Will the district never be livable again? Will it just sit here for all eternity, frozen in time?_ Sasuke clenched his hands and ground his teeth together. "Itachi!" Sasuke's yell echoed around the small room but failed to penetrate the walls to the outside. "I killed you! Why do you still torment me!" Sasuke sent his fist through the closest wall. He could feel the cool breeze where he'd broken through the other side. The memory of the final fight came back.

_**Flashback**_

_The dead body of Kisame lay in two pieces on the forest floor. Naruto had battled Kisame and overpowered him after many jutsus being throw back and forth. The fish man was no more, but his partner, Itachi Uchiha, was perfectly fine. His battle had yet to begin with his little brother, Sasuke._

"_Itachi." Sasuke ground out. "This is the end! Here, you die!"_

"_Sasuke!" The Uchihas turned to the source of the voice. Naruto stood with the other three kitsune behind him. "Don't fight with anger! You'll only lose. You have to overcome the desire to gain revenge on your clan and fight to stop him from hurting anyone else precious to you." Naruto was hiding it but Sasuke could tell he was tired out form his battle with the fish Akatsuki member._

"_Spoken like the goody-goody Naruto." Sasuke sighed and forcefully unclenched his fists. "Let's do it." Sasuke jumped at Itachi with the Sharingan blazing._

The rest of the fight was a blur to Sasuke. After the fight had ended, Sasuke couldn't remember what had happened.

_Sasuke stood over the dead body of Itachi. There was a gaping hole in his check from a Chidori and his right arm was severed at the shoulder._

"_What..." Sasuke was panting heavily. "What was...that jutsu he used? It wasn't natural!" Sasuke glared at the eyes that were open in shock. The red eyes that had opposed Sasuke his whole life and created the misery that only Naruto and Hinata had helped him out of._

"_It doesn't matter. He's dead, Sasuke. You've accomplished your ambition and destroyed the bane of your existence." The soft voice of Hinata calmed Sasuke down._

"_Yes." He felt a weight lift from his shoulders. He turned to the rest of his team and flashed a smirk. "He's dead. I have avenged my clan and a great weight has been lifted from my shoulders." His smirk changed to a heartfelt smile as he turned his face upwards. "Now, comes sleep." Hinata gasped as Sasuke's body fell backwards and landed on the ground. Naruto was by his side in an instant._

"_It's okay. He's alive, he's just tired out." The blond lifted the body of his friend over his shoulder and led the way back to the forest that they lived in. __Well, Sasuke. You've achieved your goal. It's just too bad mine is out of my reach now. But someday, we'll become the best and be recognized as such. That is the closest to my dream I can get and it's perfectly fine with you and Hinata by my side._

_**Flashback End**_

"Itachi. You have cursed the Uchiha clan to never live in peace again, but I will find a way." Sasuke left the small building and the Uchiha District to wander around some more. His disguise had been up the whole time and a few people gave him a weird look when he left the district, but he ignored them.

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Bokura was wandering around town looking for a single thing. The twenty-three year old kitsune was looking for the one and only, Ichiraku Ramen. His fox features were hidden under a genjutsu for the time being. Ruse was following him silently. He received a few worried looks and even some of hatred, bu the ignored them. They were mere humans that couldn't drop their discriminatory ways.

"Yatta!" Bokura yelled when he spotted the ramen stand. He ran down the street wildly with Ruse hurrying after him. The green-haired man walked in and sat down at an empty stool. Ruse jumped into the stool next to him and proceeded to sleep. "Naruto said this ramen was legendary! We're going to find out, aren't we, Ruse?" He looked over at the bundle of red fox and made a pouty face. "Always have to ruin my fun by sleeping. Party pooper." Bokura's attention was changed when a lovely woman came to the counter.

"Naruto? Naruto Uzumaki?" The girl asked. Bokura nodded. "It's been so long since he was here. He was our best customer and just the cutest little guy. It's been six years." The girl, that Bokura now realized was Ayame from Naruto's description, donned an expression of anger. "Then those bastards on the council had to exile him." She sighed. "Guess I can't help it. So, what will you be having?"

Bokura was watching her through her short rant. He raised an eyebrow. "Er...how about, three beef and miso to start it off."

This time, Ayame raised her eyebrow. "We might have a new best customer." she giggled and walked back to where Bokura assumed the kitchen and Teuchi was. Bokura was wiggling in his seat. _Naruto made this ramen seem like a god! Don't let me down, ramen!_ Ruse snorted from his stool.

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A porcelain looking female was fixing some stuff in the kitchen. She had on a white tank top that showed the bust that she hadn't had the six years ago when she'd met team seven. She had a pouch strapped to her upper leg over a pair of tight black shorts which were both under a light blue skirt that fell almost to her knees. Her brown hair was put up in a bun that was secured with twin senbon.

The girl heard a knock from the door and left the vegetables she was chopping to answer it. She turned the nob and pulled to see two people she hadn't seen in a while.

"Haku-chan!" yelled the blond outside of her door. Haku gasped and then smiled.

"Toruna-kun and Tanahi-chan. It's been a while." She continued smiling as she led the two into the living room. They released their disguises and settled on the couch. "I'll go get Kumei. She's asleep right now." Haku left the smiling blond and the lavender girl to retrieve their child.

Shortly after, Haku came back in with a bundle in her arms. Naruto could barely see the small tuft of yellow hair that peeked above the blanket that was wrapped around his daughter. Haku, with a smile, handed the bundle to Hinata. Naruto looked at Kumei from over Hinata's shoulder and smiled.

"She's still as cute as ever." Hinata said. They all watched as the girl woke from her sleep. Hinata had a smile of pride while Naruto had a smile that radiated pride. "Her eyes are still as beautiful as I remember." Hinata cooed when she saw the baby girl's eyes. They were just like the Hyuuga's solid white eyes except they were the blue color of Naruto's without any pupils.

"I wonder if they'll affect her Byakugan." The father mused while his smile never faltered. "I wonder if she'll even want to be a ninja. We won't force her, but it'd be nice." Naruto wrapped his left arm around Hinata's shoulders while he tickled Kumei with his right hand. The small girl giggled and tried to grab the calloused finger that caused it.

Haku was watching them. She loved the family moments, they were so peaceful. "So, how long are you guys going to stay this time?" Haku turned to Hinata, who she knew would answer.

"We'll be here for a month at least, a year or so at most. It all depends on how long the upcoming war lasts." Hinata had a content smile on her face. "Konoha has managed to hire us. At least, the Hokage and other ninja have. We have to discuss the terms with the council later."

"Yeah...about that, we were wondering if you had a spare bedroom here so we could spend more time with our daughter." Naruto smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head. "If it helps, we'll help with groceries and other expenses."

Haku smiled warmly at the Namikazes. "You know you don't have to ask. And it'll be a change of pace to have others around." Haku walked to a cupboard and pulled out a few plates. "Say, how much are you being paid to help Konoha."

"We're accepting no less than one hundred million ryo." Naruto said with a serious tone, yet his smile was still on his face. "It's going to cost a lot to get me to help this discriminatory village."

Haku's smile changed to a sad one. "It was a shame about what happened, but just look at what those idiots threw away. Three of the strongest ninjas in the land, not to count two famed bloodline limits."

"Not to count the strongest shinobi this village ever had, my father. Ha, and that Kyuubi! If only those idiots knew that she was on their side. All she wanted was that bastard snake sannin." Naruto's faced turned serious. "Whom I plan to end the existence of in this war." He broke back out in a smile again and tickled his daughter once more before heading into the kitchen to get some of their special milk since the girl didn't have a mother to breast-feed from.

"You know, I've been thinking we should settle down or find a safe place so we could raise Kumei ourselves." Hinata said when Naruto returned with a bottle. Hinata took the bottle and tilted it to Kumei's mouth.

"That would be nice. I would rather settle down in a village to have maximum safety, but, Konoha, has yet to earn my trust. But, for now, it's fine." Naruto smiled and sat on the couch by his wife. Haku entered the kitchen to finish making the food she was working on.

Naruto stroked Hinata's dark blue hair as he watched his daughter drink the milk. Hinata turned her smiling face up to Naruto. "I really hope we can get the village to accept you. I miss the village, but they have done nothing but torment you."

"Don't worry Hinata-chan." Naruto said. He turned his bright blue eyes to the pale lavender eyes of the ex-Hyuuga. "One way or another, they'll see that I'm not Kyuubi. If it come to it, I'll bring her out to show them. In fact, I was debating whether I should do that when we meet the council. Hmm." Naruto stopped to think. "Do you think we should bring young Kumei with us or keep her a secret?"

"It would be best to keep her a secret." Haku said as she returned from the kitchen with a bowl of salad. "If word were to get out that you have a child, the enemy would no doubt try and kidnap her to use as leverage. I'll defend her with my life, but there are many out there that are stronger than me. Now," She carefully set the bowl down and spooned salad onto the three, previous placed, plates. "This isn't much but I planned for it to be a light snack. I added some more so there'll be enough for you two. As for living arrangements, I'll have the guest bedroom ready later today."

"Thank you for your kindness." Hinata said with a small bow of her head. "We'll be sure to find a way to repay you for your hospitality and taking care of our child for most of a year."

"No, it was nothing. After all you guys did to help me six years ago in Wave, I owe you this." Haku sat in the chair that was across from the couch with the small coffee table in between them. She had her plate of salad resting on her legs.

Naruto grabbed his plate eagerly. "Haku, I'll be sure to get you front row seats for the fights tomorrow." the blond dug into his salad with less gusto than when he ate ramen but with enough to rival an Akimichi.

"Fights?" Was the question echoed by Haku and Hinata. Naruto nodded vigorously.

"Yeah, fights. The council will no doubt want to see a show of our strength and abilities. And, if it slips their minds, I'll suggest it myself! I want to find out if our old sensei have progressed any over these six years." The foxy grin flashed and Haku and Hinata had to chuckle a bit at his eagerness to spar.

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_7:30 pm; Haku's House_

Naruto and Hinata stepped out of Haku's, and now their, home with a wave. They were about to walk around and bit before heading to the meeting. Their walk was short lived, however, when a white blur landed in front of them.

"Who's this, now?" asked Naruto, annoyed that their walk had been interrupted. "We only have half an hour before we have to go to a meeting and we'd like to spend it as peacefully as we can." Naruto complained. Hinata, however, had a slight look of fear and wonderment.

"T-Tousan?" The shy girl asked. The figure rose from its crouched position to reveal the white eyes of a Hyuuga and the robes that signified the Hyuuga head. "Naruto, we forgot to put the disguises back up." She whispered to her husband.

"Doh! I knew I forgot something." The blond smacked his forehead. "Well, it's a little too late to worry now." he turned to look at the Hyuuga. "So, Hiashi Hyuuga. What brings you to this part of town?"

Hiashi let his gaze linger on Hinata's unsealed forehead, they had removed and hid their headband while in their real forms. "Hinata." He said before turning his gaze to both of the people in front of him. "If you must know, I was heading to a meeting I have soon. I happened to spot my daughter and stopped by to see why the weakling has returned to the village after six years, with the exile, no less." His voice was emotionless but Naruto and Hinata both felt the anger directed behind them.

"Butt out of this, Hyuuga!" Naruto growled. "We have permission to be in the village and you're in no position to do anything to either of us."

The Hyuuga head frowned. "I have every right to be here. Hinata Hyuuga, the ex-heiress is walking around without the caged bird seal. This goes against the clan law and I will see to it that she receives it."

"I am not wrong to assume that the law only affects Hyuugas, right?" Naruto asked. Hinata didn't know where Naruto was going with this.

"Of course." Hiashi responded.

"Then we're fine. Hinata is not a Hyuuga and hasn't been for over a year, now. Hinata _Namikaze_ is exempt from your law." Naruto said smugly. And if you try to do anything to Hinata-chan, regardless of your stupid laws, I'll kill you, or better yet, I'll let Hinata do it."

"So, you know of your heritage? I figured someone had to tell you eventually. I wonder if you can live up to your father's name." said the stoic Hyuuga. He didn't seem to care about the marriage at all.

"You bet I can! The one who told me will be a secret for another hour or less. I can't reveal that information so easily." Naruto grinned. "And you'll have a heart attack when you learn of who my mother is."

"N-Naruto-kun, they're the most powerful clan in the village." Hinata whispered.

"There's no need to be nervous, Hinata-chan. You've bypassed all of the Hyuugas in power and you're exempt from all of their laws, you're fine." Naruto smiled at his wife. Hinata felt warmth spread through her from that single smile and she smiled, herself.

"Care to prove that?" Hiashi said with a bit of curiosity in his voice. Naruto smirked and nodded. "Well then, how about, after we test the Kitsune Legion tomorrow, we test the ex-Hyuuga's power. If she loses, we place the caged bird seal on her and she is bound to the clan."

"And if she wins, the Hyuuga are to use a modified form of the Caged Bird seal that will disable the control and get rid of the Main and Branch families to untie them into one, and you'll all leave Hinata-chan alone." Naruto countered. "You may choose which Hyuugas she fights and how many, it won't make a difference."

Hiashi seemed to think about this. "High stakes." He stated. "Very well, we'll get this down on paper after the meeting I have to attend. Hinata Namikaze will fight two Elders, myself, and Hanabi." Hinata inhaled sharply at the last name.

"You got it! Hinata will show you what she's made of! Now run off to your little meeting." Naruto waved his hand and turned to lead Hinata down another street. Hiashi smirked before disappearing.

"Naruto-kun, I...I can't fight my little sister." She bit her lower lip. "The same as I couldn't fight her when I was younger. She's the only family that showed even distant care for me, and she looks so much like my late mother."

Naruto nodded. "It's okay Hinata. You're just fighting to prove a point, not to kill or maim. She is your sister and she'll understand why you have to do this, though she won't be holding back, just like you shouldn't." Hinata nodded and pulled herself closer to Naruto.

"I-I'll try Naruto-kun."

"That's all that matters." Naruto smiled, not his foxy grin, but a real smile. "Well, we'd better hurry. That talk with your father ate up some time and we only have about ten minutes left. Better put our disguises back up too."

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_8:00 pm; Meeting Chamber_

Naruto, Hinata, Sasuke, under their disguises, Bokura, and Ruse were standing in the meeting chamber. There was a large semi-circle of wooden bleachers with two rows. The bottom row contained five different seats for the five primary council members. On the left were Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane, the late Third's teammates. On the left sat Hiashi Hyuuga and Danzou, the leader of the hidden ROOT. The seat in the middle was empty. The back row, from left to right, had Shibi Aburame, Shikaku Nara, Inoichi Yamanaka, Chouza Akimichi, and Tsume Inuzuka. In all, with the empty seat, there were ten overall council members, five of which were part of the primary council and were either village elders or of the most prestigious clans. Tsunade entered and proceeded to take the empty seat that, Naruto guessed, belonged to the Uchihas. The Hokage pulled out a piece of paper and cast an unnamed jutsu on a writing utensil.

"This meeting begins." The pen, Naruto now saw, wrote everything that was said and who said it. _Complicated and advanced jutsu with a simple purpose._ He thought. Tsunade continued. "This meeting has been called to address the problem regarding the impending war. We do not have the strength by ourselves to win this and we have been forced to call for the help of an outside force. The Kitsune Legion will now discuss their terms for receiving their help." Tsunade motioned to the five to begin.

"One hundred million ryo." said the dark Kitsune.

"That's outrageous!" yelled the Yamanaka. Similar argument were heard from the rest.

"I'm sorry, but we cannot accept that. It is highly unreasonable." said Homura.

"So is a bunch of other crap this village has done." mumbled Toruna.

"Care to explain?" Shikaku asked. Tsunade knew what was coming.

"It happened about six years ago." said Bokura. "You exiled Naruto Uzumaki from Konoha on the grounds that he was the cause of the Uchiha's initial departure and eventual escape. Then, to boost your argument, you accused him of the injuries and near death attained by the rest of the rescue team. Naruto was the best friend I ever had, and after I heard what had happened to him, I, along with my friends, have a grudge against this village the size of the Hokage mountain."

"We had no choice but to kick that brat out. He was a danger to the village and all of its inhabitants if he stayed here." said Danzou. "It was for the best interest of Konoha that he be exiled."

"Wait, you said, _was_, your best friend?" asked Shikaku. "Did something happen to him to end it?"

"If he was still in our plane of existence, don't you think he'd be here with me? He was a powerful shinobi in the time that I knew him." Bokura said.

"So, the demon brat is dead?" asked Tsume while she was on the edge of her seat. Her canines could be seen when she smiled. "Good riddance, he's gone and the village is safe from him! So tell me," She was way too eager. "how and who did it?"

A wave of killing intent washed over the council members and froze them all in place. It took them a short time to learn that it was coming from the golden fox. He turned his face up and his golden eyes glared at them. "You will keep your racial discriminations out of this court if you wish to keep your heads on your shoulders."

"You have no right to be threatening the council of Konoha while you are amongst some of the most powerful ninja in the village." Koharu said. She pushed her glasses back up her nose after she broke free from her stasis.

The killing intent nearly tripled and everyone was frozen, even the other four kitsune. The golden fox was growling now. "Right or not, there is no one here who can oppose me! Anyone who dares try, will meet their end. I do not make empty threats."

"I think it would be wise to listen." Shikaku said after he could move again. "I believe the payment is reasonable for their hatred of this village while they have to help it. However strong your killing intent may be, we cannot trust that you're as strong as you say you are." Everyone took in the Nara's words.

"Shikaku is right." Homura said. "Though their opinion is biased, with the amount of hatred they have towards the village, they're not going to go cheap on us."

"Not to mention that they're the only help we have in this war, aside from out allies." Hiashi spoke for the first time. Naruto had a sneaking suspicion that the Hyuuga Head knew who they were, even with their jutsu.

Homura sighed. "We will agree to the terms on one condition. You will battle with a group of five of our best. We've leave the choice up to the Godaime. If we find your power acceptable, we will agree to the terms. Does anyone object?" There was no one, but Naruto could see that the Inuzuka head wanted to say something. Danzou would have been thought to disagree but his mind was focused on the bettering of Konoha through power. He would allow the Kitsune Legion to help Konoha in the war and then fix them after Konoha is safe.

Tsunade wasn't expecting them to allow her to choose the combatants. "Very well," She said. "I will write up the contract after the meeting and have it ready. The battle will begin at noon tomorrow in the stadium. You will be fighting Kakashi Hatake, our best ninjutsu user, Kurenai Yuhi, our best genjutsu user, Gai Might, our best taijutsu user, Asuma Sarutobi, the finest with blades and wind, and Anko Mitarashi, the master of the snakes. If anyone has any questions or objections, please speak them now." She looked around.

"Oh, I got one!" The golden fox yelled. "Could you include the two sannin, that are currently in the village, in the battle? And, announce it to let everyone come and watch their best fight the foxes?" Tsunade entertained these thoughts and donned a devious smile.

"Of course. I'd love the chance to trounce you. For Jiraiya, that is purely his choice. I see no problem with allowing people to come and see the fight, is this fine with everyone?" The Godaime looked around and saw all head nodding. "Good."

The silence that proceeded was interrupted by someone clearing their throat. Everyone looked to find Hiashi Hyuuga wanting to speak. "This is all fine and dandy, but I think it's time that you reveal your true identities to us." There was a slight smirk on his face.

"True identities?" asked Tsume. "You've been tricking us!?"

"Ha!" yelled golden fox as he performed a hand sign. All of the council members, except Tsunade and Hiashi, tensed. Smoke enveloped the fox group. They all waited with bated breath as the smoke cleared.

"The demon brat!" Tsume yelled. "You were exiled and your presence in this village goes against that!"

"On the contrary," Naruto said. "I was banished, yes, but I can gain temporary access to the village from the Hokage." Naruto frowned. "You racist bastards are still the same. Out of all of us, you choose the exile to reprimand. Did you even notice that you have two missing-nins in your presence?" Naruto motioned to Hinata and Sasuke.

"Hinata Hyuuga and Sasuke Uchiha?" the Aburame asked.

"Konoha lost the Uchiha clan the moment you banished Naruto." Sasuke said. "I went to Orochimaru willingly and regardless of his influence. In fact, if it wasn't for Naruto, I would have gone solely for power. The truth, which I'm sure he told you and yet you ignored it, was that I went as a spy for him. I copied every single scroll the snake bastard had and brought them back to the Namikaze residence."

"What!?" yelled Tsume, angry. "The Namikaze residence is hidden so that no one but Namikaze blood will be able to get in or even find it. Most people believe it's a legend by now!"

"Ah, but I did have a Namikaze lead me in." Sasuke pointed at Naruto. "Naruto Namikaze led us to his heritage after he received directions on how to get there."

"No one, not even Jiraiya, knew where it was! How on earth could this demon find it!?" Inoichi yelled.

"I believe that would be me." came a voice from the shadows. Two figures walked up from behind the fox group in black cloaks. The one that spoke removed his hood to reveal blond hair and blue eyes.

"Y-Yondaime!?" Koharu was near speechless. "It can't be. It has to be a trick by the demon fox."

The older blond smirked. "Trick or not, I'm the one that showed him to my humble abode."

"how can you still be alive?" asked the Inuzuka woman.

The lost Hokage just smiled. "After I sealed Kyuubi inside of Naruto, I sealed myself inside of him. I've been living with Kyuubi for the past eighteen years inside of my son." The second figure lowered her hood to reveal the red hair and ears of the Kyuubi herself.

"It's the fox bitch and the demon brat." Tsume yelled. "She has to be controlling him!"

"I don't care if you talk about me bad, but you better keep my son out of your insults." Kyuubi growled.

"Keep your opinion to yourself you fox whore!" Inoichi yelled.

Kyuubi smirked. "I said _I_ don't care. However, I can't say the same for my husband." Next to her, Yondaime was shaking and his hands were clenched. All of the council watched the one that was known as the strongest shinobi. They'd never seen him angry before.

"Say one more negative word about my wife and there won't be a village to defend." he growled out.

"You married the fox de...I mean Kyuubi?" Hiashi asked, obviously surprised.

"Yes, and I had a son with her." Minato ground out. "A son that, by the way, was treated like scum for the twelve years that he inhabited this pitiful village for something that I was forced to seal inside of him. Not only have you lost the Namikaze heir, the best Hyuuga, and the last Uchiha, but you have lost the Kyuubi and the Fourth Hokage." Minato had never been this angry but all those years of abuse to Naruto had gotten to him.

"Calm down, Minato." Kyuubi said and she rubbed his arms.

"I suppose, if you don't want us helping you," Sasuke said, "We could go pay a visit to Kumo and charge them ten million ryo to help them. We only charge you so much because of you hatred for our strongest member." A few members of the council started to argue.

"Enough." Homura said. "We have no choice but to accept their help and their charges."

"Kaasan, tousan, you can return to the seal now. I think they got our point." Naruto smirked. Minato forced a smile and nodded. They disappeared in a puff of smoke and everyone could see the red and yellow chakras reentering Naruto's stomach.

"Konoha is truly in a bad state." Tsunade said. "We've lost the Uchiha and Namikazes. We also lost the ex-Hyuuga heiress."

"Ex-Hyuuga?" questioned Inoichi.

"Yeah!" Naruto yelled. "Hinata isn't one of those stick-up-the-ass Hyuugas anymore. She's now and has been, for almost two years, Hinata Namikaze!" Many of the council gasped. Hinata smiled and wrapped her arms around Naruto's right arm. "Now, we'll be taking our leave. We've settled the issue and we'll be there for the battles tomorrow at noon. Us against seven of Konoha's best! Then after that, we get to enjoy the Hyuuga and ex-Hyuuga battle!" Naruto turned and walked out the door with the rest of his team following.

Quite a few on the council were angry. "Well," said Tsunade. "I'd hope that's enough proof that Naruto is NOT the Kyuubi. If any of you close-minded fools still want to think that he is, I'll personally inform you of why he's not." At that, Tsunade raised her fist threateningly.

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_Midnight; Unknown Location_

Two gleaming orange eyes peered into the surrounding darkness. The human eye could barely make out the outlines of three other figures, but these eyes could see everything as if the darkness didn't exist. The eyes wandered over each bundle of black that was bowing before focusing on the one in front, his current second in command.

"Where is Pein." The voice was emotionless, and obviously male, but caused all three bundles to shudder. The eyes, though calm and emotionless, felt like they were burning a hole in the lead figure's back.

"We have still failed to find his body." The reply was rasp and nervous, and, also, male. "After the fight with the Kyuubi boy, he seemingly disappeared from this realm." The figure shuddered in relief at the orange eyes moved to focus on the blank wall behind him.

"Karen." The voice echoed around the room and one of the back figure shuddered.

"Y-Yes, sir?" The voice was feminine and paranoid.

"We will move into action soon. Until then, I want you to find the blond boy and his location. Do not confront him." The voice became stern. "You will die if you fight them alone. Along with this, you will the Demon's Bane. The boy has the Kitsune's legendary item. Even though his skill is limited, it will be a tough fight. The Demon's Bane will be returned to me and, when the time comes, I will slay the target. Do not forget who our target is, we mustn't let Orochimaru get to her first." The orange eyes closed. "Fumatsu," He said, addressing the one in front, "You will continue the search for Pein. Garou will monitor the snake. Dismissed." In the blink of an eye, all four figures disappeared.

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_Around Midnight; Grassy Field_

A man was standing right behind a fence with his white hair stuck up, defying gravity. His gaze was focused through his glasses on the field that lay beyond the fence. It spread for miles out south and west. He was standing on the eastern side behind the fence that separated the field from the forest that loomed behind the man. The fence ran a short distance north before turning west and blocking the field from the northern forest.

A figure dropped down next to him from the trees. Yellow eyes flashed dangerously as he stood to his full height. Black hair fell down his back and partially blocked his face. Around his eyes were purple marks. His yellow, slitted, eyes gazed across the field, as if judging it.

"Yes." The voice came out as a pleased hiss from the black-haired man. "This will be where we focus the battle. We'll lure Konoha here and to their doom." He turned his gaze to the white-haired man. "We've found the battle's location. Next we move on to find the target. I heard her last sighting was in Fire Country. Time for some...fun." The black-haired man let his abnormally long tongue hand out and lick his lips.

"Hai, Orochimaru-sama." Both ninjas flitted into the forest. The grass that covered the field and the trees around it seemed to shake in the wind, as if feeling the upcoming war.

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_Past Midnight; Konoha Streets_

Bokura was walking through the streets of Konoha, in the middle of the night, alone. He had told Ruse to stay at the hotel. He had disappeared soon after and was walking through the streets. Tonight was the night that 'it' happened. He had to find a place that was secluded from the rest of the village. More specifically, the training grounds. The green fox's feet carried his slowly across the hard ground. He had no sense of direction, he just needed to find his destination while he prolonged the event as long as he could. His eyes were beginning to glaze over from the effort of holding it back. He exited the town itself and entered the forest.

Then, finally, he found it. He was in an empty training ground that was far enough away from the village. Standing in the middle, he released his right arm, which he had unconsciously grabbed, and stopped resisting. The glazed look in his eyes disappeared and an intricate black seal appeared on his arm. The seal wrapped around his fingers and came to a point on the top and bottom of each finger. The black wound around his arm in a complicated, non-symmetrical, pattern. It flashed red and quickly went back to black. The flashing increased until the black was now all glowing red. This was Bokura's biggest secret. Nobody knew about this, not even Ruse. The seal flashed a bright white as Bokura resisted its influence. The bottom of that seal, which ended shortly before his elbow, extended six tips and wound around the rest of Bokura's arm. It flashed white again as Bokura resisted it. The seal on his forearm warped and moved to form a long oval. Inside the oval, a sword shape formed and flashed a dangerous red and white. Bokura's arm started to burn and it grew beyond comparison. Tears came to Bokura's eyes as he remembered why he had to do this. He had to keep it at bay and stop its owner from getting it ever again.

Bokura surged his chakra into his arm, by reflex, trying to use it to lessen the pain. He had developed the reflex after many time of being beaten in battle. The seal just absorbed the chakra and seemed to fight against him even more. Bokura forcefully closed all tenketsu that led to his right arm. "Stay back." He ground his teeth together. "You stupid sword." He was having hard time talking. "Stay put." With his words, the fighting only increased but, luckily, the burning didn't. Black chakra began to swirl around Bokura's arm. The arm itself turned a deathly brown.

Bokura tried to remember how long he'd been fighting it but his mind couldn't focus on anything. All he could do was fight it until it settled down. Slowly, the black chakra started flickering. Soon, it was absorbed back into the seal on his arm and the arm returned it its normal state. The seal disappeared, leaving no trace of its existence.

This was Bokura's job. He kept a sword sealed into his arm. Nobody knew about the sword or about it being sealed into his arm. It was his biggest secret, a secret that he intended to keep just that. It had been sealed in him three years prior. He had gone on a two month trip that he kept secret from the rest of the kitsune. The man that sealed the sword had been keeping it in a barrier that he had to monitor at all times. He died after the sealing. Every two months, the sword would attack it's host and try to break out, seeking its master. He figured that the sword's owner was getting ready for something. The fighting had been more ruthless and taxing that it had before. He looked at his right arm in the moonlight. It was red from the exertion but it would be fine after a night of sleep. He just noticed his very heavy breathing and took steps to slow it down before he passed out. His body hit the ground with a thud. This would happen after the most violent of the attacks.

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_Past Midnight; Haku's House_

Naruto lay in bed curled around his Hinata. His eyes peered at the wall with a sadness in them. He could feel the dark chakra that Bokura was working to keep down. Naruto had followed Bokura and knew all about the burden that he had to bear. But, unlike his seal, Bokura's was kept completely secret from all but three. Bokura knew, Naruto was watching the whole ordeal, and there was a third presence that watched on that day. Naruto tried to find it, but as soon as it felt him closing in, it disappeared, leaving no trace. Naruto wanted to help Bokura but his father told him that tampering with the seal would destroy it. It was tied into the chakra network of Bokura's right arm and couldn't be removed. The sword itself could be removed, but Bokura's arm was at risk then. It depended on the type of extraction the forcefulness of it. Naruto pulled the blankets closer over his and his wife's forms before trying to settle into a sleep. Bokura had beaten the sword down for another two months.

**-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-**

**That whole thing about the sword, the group of people, and the seal were all on impulse. I needed more stuff to fill the chapter so I could start the next on the new day. I don't know if I plan on having Bokura tell the rest of the people about it, that will be a poll I guess.**

**The sword's purpose and origin will be revealed later...how much later depends on things that I have yet to think of.**

**Poll: What should Bokura do about the sword?**

**A. Tell the rest of the Kitsune Legion**

**B. Have Bokura meet the owner and the pain and attacks increase**

**C. Bokura battles the sword spirit**

**D. Bokura conquers the sword and the attacks stop**

**E. Bokura gets a girl and the pain and attacks decrease**

**Read and Review Please, I'm begging you.**


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